The former DC sports betting monopoly provider could be under investigation by the District’s attorney general, according to a recent court order.
Intralot is a petitioner in a case at the DC Superior Court with all documents sealed, including filings on July 22 and August 1. According to reporting from Washington City Paper published last week, the case is related to a request from DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb for information related to Intralot’s handling of business with the DC Lottery, including DC sports betting.
Schwalb’s office declined to confirm, deny or comment on an LSR inquiry into the reported investigation.
DC investigation report
WCP reported Schwalb is likely looking into “false claim” violations. Those violations are most commonly “contractors and grantees who seek to have the District pay for work that was not fully or properly performed,” according to the attorney general’s website.
Intralot, which received a no-bid contract to run sports betting in the District, has been under DC Council scrutiny since it begin its sports betting monopoly in 2019. Since Intralot’s GambetDC online offering launched in 2020, DC lawmakers were unimpressed with its performance.
Intralot disappointed bettors with over-juiced odds. GambetDC was also down for the 2022 Super Bowl.
Rough DC sports betting tenure
In 2020, Caesars launched an in-person sportsbook at Capital One Arena and often outperformed GambetDC.
Earlier this year, FanDuel subcontracted with Intralot and replaced GambetDC as the District-wide online option after the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming forced the change because of Intralot’s underperformance.
“I have heard from many residents about the unease around the city’s woeful performance on sports betting. And I absolutely share those same sentiments,” Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie said during an oversight hearing in January. “From issues around usability to customer service and seriously declining revenue, we know the current model simply is not working. These concerns have only grown over time.”
New DC sports betting market
In June, the DC Council passed its budget to allow up to seven commercial operators to operate Distrcit-wide through partnerships with professional sports organizations active in the city. Previously, operators like Caesars and BetMGM could only operate online within two blocks of their sports team partners.
There was a temporary sports betting blackout in July while Mayor Muriel Bowser considered the annual budget. Now there are four commercial operators District-wide:
- BetMGM
- Caesars
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
Fanatics also plans to launch in DC.
Intralot outside of DC
Last month, the DC Council agreed to a one-year, $39 million extension with Intralot, including both the sports betting and lottery offerings. Prior to the budget process, the council asked for a two-year extension.
According to GambetDC’s website, in-person lottery sports betting kiosks across the district are still up and running. Online withdrawals from the platform are required by October 15, according to the site.
Intralot is also partnered with lotteries in Ohio and Montana for sports betting. It also has several lottery-only partnerships, including Ohio and Georgia.
The Ohio partnership includes 713 kiosks that have generated $7 million in lifetime handle and $820,000 in revenue.
LSR analyst Eric Ramsey contributed this report.
